I was trying to explain to my Dad today what E=MC^2 actually meant, but soon realised that I didn't actually know enough about it to explain it in a reasonable manner. Could someone (SS/Spark most likely) explain what it actually means.

Originally Posted by Top_Cat

1) Had double pneumonia as a kid, as did my twin sis. Doctors told my parents to pray that we lived through the night. Dad said **** off, I'm an atheist, you ****s better save my kids, etc. Then prayed anyway.

Optical Quantum Memory
To store a quantum state of light, you have to somehow catch it and release it, but never measure it. This is because any measurement will disturb the quantum state, thus making the memory noisy. We do experiments that aim to perfect a quantum memory that works by absorbing pulses of light in an atomic gas. At some controllable time later, we can un-absorb the light to release the stored quantum state. The are numerous projects available working on both hot and cold atomic gases, generating entangled quantum states of light, as well as theoretical modelling of the system.

I was trying to explain to my Dad today what E=MC^2 actually meant, but soon realised that I didn't actually know enough about it to explain it in a reasonable manner. Could someone (SS/Spark most likely) explain what it actually means.

The principle of relativity/constancy of the speed of light (that's the crazy part) has odd consequences for the energy of light as viewed in different inertial reference frames. The connection to mass comes from looking at the change in energy of a stationary vs moving particle before and after emitting said light.

in the future where we're all social justice-y Cribb can ride down the street to pick up some raw milk from Coles on a motorised esky while smoking meth, firing an RPG into the air, and carrying the case of British-import Stella he's polygamously (and privately) married alongside a genderfluid Zambian businessperson and a coke-snorting 18-year-old cyborg girl.

So I learned today from a friend whose parents work in Natural Science at our uni that the professor who takes one of our papers has some fringe religious beliefs, like the earth is 600 years old (figure quoted from person in the know, but they probably meant 6000 since it fits in with creationism) and all that.

Cue awkward moment when he says in class today "A few centuries ago, fossils and fluvial deposits were explained away as remnants of Noah's Flood," laughing as though he found the idea ludicrous. Some awkward glances were exchanged between me and some mates.

This guy is a river geomorphologist. I have no idea how he can reconcile what he researches with his religious beliefs. I mean sure rivers aren't as challenging to his beliefs as say, the fossil record, but he's published papers on reconstructing where ancient rivers and estuaries were located and what they may have looked like.